Rev. Christy Thomas: Good life requires connections

I recently read a compelling article
about longevity in The New York Times
Magazine, drawn into the beauty of the life of people on the Greek island
of Ikaria. Dan Buettner, the writer of “The Island Where People Forget to Die,”
has been seeking to find the key to their extraordinarily long lives.

Their food is simple, homegrown and
primarily vegetarian. Herbal teas and homemade wines are consumed daily.
Exercise is just a normal part of life, not something that has to be shoved
into an overly busy schedule. Everyone gets plenty of sleep, waking naturally,
napping often.

Just those things alone have to be
instrumental as the islanders live their long lives together. The people of
Ikaria are vital and active well into their 90s and even beyond.

However, Buettner noted the
impossibility of importing their food, sleep and exercise habits as a solution
to the diseases of civilization that plague us in more developed countries.
Buettner writes:

“As soon as you take culture, belonging,
purpose or religion out of the picture, the foundation for long healthy lives
collapses. The power of such an environment lies in the mutually reinforcing
relationships among lots of small nudges and default choices. There’s no silver
bullet to keep death and the diseases of old age at bay. If there’s anything
close to a secret, it’s silver buckshot.”

Silver buckshot: Everything has to come
together to live this well. No one element can be removed for the system to
work properly.

The society described here comes about
as close to God’s will on earth as it is in heaven that I’ve ever seen.
However, most of us in our more civilized world would find it nearly impossible
to endure.

There is no privacy on Ikaria: Everyone
knows everyone else’s business and that helps keep deeds of darkness in check.
Isolation can’t happen — someone will always knock on the door and come in or
bring people out.

Worship is not an “if I’m not too busy
today” option. They worship together, fast together and feast together.

They have few possessions, and small
homes. But they’ve got everything.

When I read this, I looked at my
morning. I had awakened with the usual list of things that I saw as necessary
to accomplish that day. I hauled myself out of bed onto the treadmill, got in
my required “steps” for the morning before fixing a cup of tea and looking at
the newspaper. There I read with increasing sadness yet once more about our
uncivil society, our lack of respect for others in our discourse and actions,
our willingness to destroy others for the sake of our pleasure and our
ambitions.

But the article about these people on
that Greek island reminded me: We don’t have to be like this. We can live
decently, in connection with one another, with nature and with God. However,
just about every single thing in our so-called civilized culture fights against
it.

To live as “realized” or “actualized” or
“perfected” or “fully sanctified” or “saved” or “healthy” or “integrated” (pick
your preferred phrase) human beings, every part of our lives must be touched
and examined.

Too many people hide terrible things
behind too many of our front doors, whether nicely painted and framed by
well-manicured lawns or barely attached with rusty hinges and framed with broken
glass and rampant weeds. Our valued privacy gives too much space for those
deeds of darkness.

We poison our bodies and souls with
sickly “foods” and sicker visual imagery, insisting we harm no one but
ourselves.

We ignore times of worship, with the
necessary disciplines of confession, forgiveness, meditation and instruction,
because they are just too much trouble. The desperate need for sleep from our
overscheduled lives or the hangover from the previous nights “pleasures” or the
addictions of shopping, TV or just plain laziness win out.

We’re losing our minds, our souls, our
communities and our hopes, all in the name of … what?

THE
REV. CHRISTY THOMAS is the pastor of First United Methodist Church of Krum.
Reach her by calling 940-482-3482 or by e-mail at christy@krumumc.org.

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